Despite being reduced to nine men, Welling United held on to draw with St. Albans City.

Manager Steve King felt that despite the double handicap, they deserved more. “I think everyone can see the desire, the effort, the determination. I always say to them ‘even when your not playing well, give us a shift’ and they more than gave us a shift.

“We didn’t play the best in the first half. We had a good talk with them, told them to get the ball to Brendan (Kiernan) who was causing havoc for their left back. They couldn’t deal with him. They were trying to double up, treble up on him.”

Kiernan delivered two crosses within the first fifteen minutes of the second half that substitute Josh Hill converted. Then the game was turned upside down by the dismissal of Danny Mills, apparently for an elbowing offence. King said “Anybody that knows Danny Mills in non-league football will know that he is the least aggressive person that you’ll come across.

“Sometimes I want him to be more aggressive. He’s jumped up to head the ball, levering himself up, and the guy’s headed him. How he (the referee)’s seen that as a red card is beyond me. Danny Mills hasn’t got that in him and everybody knows that.”

King continued “We would go on to win that game, 100% we would go on to win that game.” He then went on to discuss a flare up between two St. Albans players, Tom Bender and Soloman Sambou, in which a head-butt and at least two punches were thrown. “The laughable thing was that he’s sent off two for two things that nobody could see yet their two players had a fight on the pitch and he pulls out a yellow.

“Why are you pulling out a yellow card? If he’s seen it, it’s a red card. If you’ve seen nothing, give nothing. He’s gone to the linesman. Those two have had a fight on the pitch. It was going on for about thirty seconds. It’s a red card anywhere on the pitch.”

As for Arnaud Mendy’s dismissal, he was equally bemused. “It’s a penalty. That’s it. Why is it a yellow card? It’s no more than a foul.” King did accept that they were the architects of their own downfall for conceding a needless corner when not clearing close to the flag. “As I said in there (the changing room) after the game, it’s about game management. I was disappoint because (without that) we win the game. We could have gone third, that’s the frustrating thing.”

However, it was still a draw and King could see the positive side. “It was a good point because we had nine players. For thirty minutes we had ten players and for twenty, give or take with injury time, we had nine players. As I said, they’ve got spirit, these boys, they don’t give up easily. It’s a fortress at home and it’s another point to the total.”

Now, looking forward to future games, King accepts that he has problems. “Richard (Orlu)’s done his hamstring so he’s going to be out which is why you need that extra centre half. He could be out for two, three, four weeks.

“Jordan (Gibbons)’s gone to hospital. It looks like a dislocated hip. We don’t know exactly but if his hip’s popped out, that’s him for the season. So in one game, we’ve lost four players.”

Picture supplied by Dave Brown.